GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 11: SPURS VS. ROCKETS, 10-11-2018, 7:30PM (CT)

Post #21 » by **G R E Y** » Sun Nov 11, 2018 5:20 am

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Post #22 » by **G R E Y** » Sun Nov 11, 2018 6:01 am

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Post #23 » by **G R E Y** » Sun Nov 11, 2018 6:21 am

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Donald Kaufman · Post #24 » by **Donald Kaufman** » Mon Nov 12, 2018 1:08 am

OK win. More a case of the Rockets being bad than us being good...White looked great. He makes such a difference.

Post #25 » by **G R E Y** » Tue Nov 13, 2018 2:34 am

What a weird week. Last Saturday, we won by 14, then lost two games by 7 each, and now bookend it with a win by 7 for our seventh win of the season. This was precipitated by their end-of-game basket which makes for serendipity in the narrative, but bad form on the court.

It was a noticeably better effort overall, and though we still made many unforced mistakes, we kept pushing and played through them. Being depleted up front showed in a 49-46 rebounding edge for them. Despite being out-manned, we bridged the rebounding gap overall with improved hustle and activity on the boards. Metu got the home crowd buzzing with his hops early in the game on the O boards, and once he learns to channel his energy constructively he'll be an even bigger asset. He had some sloppy TOs which limited his minutes; I think he tries to do too much at once knowing he won't be out there long, which reminds us he is a rookie learning his craft when we sometimes get dazzled by the athleticism. They did nearly double us 15-8 O boards, so mitigating opponent second chances needs more concerted effort. Getting reinforcements back will help.

On D we communicated and switched well to keep them honest at the arc. This was a different strategy than last season when we kept trying to go over screens to stop the shooter, but got caught time and again for 'fouling' the ball handler because we got pushed into him by a moving screen. They actually got called for a moving screen in this game, surprising, but the switching helped ensure they didn't get as many uncontested looks. Patty (5 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists), Bryn, and Derrick did well on the perimeter. It didn't stop them from putting up a ridiculous 41 3s of which they made 9; I'm not sure which of those numbers is worse, but just look at the shot chart -- it makes for ugly basketball.

It's also ugly to watch when the flow of the game gets disrupted by can't-breathe-on-them fouls. Dante got called for four which limited his minutes but in that time he was terrific on individual D and that gave help D time to recognize and adjust accordingly. LMA, Bryn (who made up for a bad pass with an assertive drive and foul in the second), and Derrick got quick whistles for some questionable calls, too. This is not to say that all of our fouls were not deserved. Pop went berserk at Beli when he took a lazy one that sent Harden to the line once more. We really shouldn't be helping him. Bad fouls slowed our momentum and let them chip away at our lead with the time stopped and fouls mounting. You could feel Pop's fury through the screen. It was Beli's (8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists) only foul of the night, so either he got way better at not fouling, or as his team-high -17 hints, he made sure he didn't.

But in several non-calls for us as well as strange calls against us, I yelled at the screen, too. When Davis (6 points on 2 3s, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks) took a left corner three, one of their bench players stood up and clapped to distract him. Is this allowed? Again, bad form. There are just some teams that get some calls no matter how much hands are up or out of the way you are. It affects how you defend and attack so even if the total FTs is more even by the end of the game, it doesn't tell the whole story of how early accumulation of fouls altered the momentum of the game. It's what teams have to adjust to, but it doesn't mean the NBA can't do better at calling games fairly.

Speaking of attacking, we were once again on the wrong end of points in the paint, 42-32. We have a tendency to back off too much when facing an athletic big without trying as much or as well as we could and should. We are capable of exploiting teams' interior through physical drives, hard cuts, backdoor cuts, and quick D to O transitions, beating them down the court before their D gets set.

Part of it has to do with what Beli said in the shootaround, that though we've got guys like LMA and DeMar who are great at beating defenders one-on-one, we are better and more dangerous as a team when we move without the ball and move the ball. We did that very well in the first three games or so, and in spurts in other games. It may be due to line-up changes and subsequent adjustments. DeMar looks like he is getting used to being the 3 with White back the last couple of games. He doesn't have the ball in his hands as much, so when he gets it he takes time to get into his rhythm. It will be great when he gets better at developing a rhythm within our system so that he can pass, attack or catch and shoot more quickly. Speaking of shooting, I know he's been working on his 3 with Chip, but it's not there yet in games. It's a catch-22 of needing to shoot in games to get better at it, but it needs more seasoning. Even though DeMar didn't have high scoring game (13 on 5-12, 0-3 from 3, 3-4FTs) he did add 3 assists and 11 rebounds, four in the fourth quarter, two late in the game that were assertive and assured we maintained possession in key moments; after each, they fouled us, and we made all four FTs.

Our overall movement did stand out from early on, though, and was more consistent. You could tell we were making a concerted effort to keep the O flow throughout, and we played to our strengths: 33-74FGs, and a judicious 10-20 from 3. They had 90 shots, aided by their 10 steals and our 16 TOs which they converted into 20 points -- this is something that has been a pattern of late, and we need to be more mindful about protecting the ball and not giving up or giving back opportunities that we've earned.

We also did a better job getting into their key in the second half. LMA got more of his points inside, as did Derrick, and Quincy, who, although it doesn't show on the shot chart, got to the FT line (the only one in the second unit to do so) and made 5-8. He was an assertive bull for us, and his low center of gravity staved off Harden at times, and made him difficult to stop when driving. All three were rewarded with FT trips where we were 20-27 as a team. Keeping our composure and managing the clock (especially late in the game) enabled us to improve our TOs (11 in the first half, 5 in the second) and keep getting to the FT line.

Derrick back is already reaping rewards for LMA. With the greatest of respect for the job Bryn has done as PG, and continues to do at SG (13 points on 5-11, 3-3 from 3, and 5 rebounds), Derrick's court vision and ability to quickly recognize mismatches and positioning is helping LMA get the ball in sweeter spots down low and score faster. LMA got his shooting groove and scored a team-high 27 on 10-21, 7-8 FTs, plus 10 rebounds, an assist and a block. Derrick looked like found his rhythm, too, scoring 14 on 4-9, 1-2 from 3 (and it was a huge, gutsy shot late in the 4th), 5-6FTs, with 4 rebounds, team-high 8 assists, and 2 steals. He was a noticeable difference maker on both ends. His presence restores a kind of natural balance to our starting unit, and to the bench as well; since it was a close game, we needed all the points we generated from everyone.

There were some things to clean up, stretches of unfocused play where we gave up the ball or missed chances for good-to-great shots. Grit and hustle can make up for some mistakes, but mitigating mistakes also rewards the grind and effort. We showed enough of it to get what we needed, and we know there's room to grow. On to the next one to show it.

Noteworthy achievements

Spurs:

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We're currently ranked 13th on D

DeMar:

Bryn:

Derrick:

LaMarcus: